With the modularity of the AR-15, home builds are everywhere. Regardless of your skill level, with enough help from online resources ( a blog about firearms, mayhaps?), almost anyone can build an AR-patterned rifle or pistol. But what happens if you want to build an AK? Well, thanks to the Rifle Dynamics Builder AKM receivers, you now have that option.

In June 2020, we reported that the Finnish Reservists were to receive a new rifle made by Dasan Machineries of South Korea. These new rifles have begun to arrive and are being fielded with Finland’s MPK. Eric wrote about the selection of the new rifles here.

When it comes to AK upgrades, the average Kalashnikov aficionado is torn between American made accessories and Russian products that are often unavailable in the US and worldwide. For me, that seems odd, since, over the years, at least 30 countries produced different variants of the AK rifles. Why all those countries do not produce AK accessories? Turns out they do, most people just don’t hear about them. One of the best examples is Finland, a country with proven manufacturing capabilities and a huge demand for AK upgrades. The Finnish vision of Kalashnikov evolution is called AK 2.0.

Welcome everyone to the 75th edition of ‘Hot Gat or Fudd Crap?’, one of our many series here on TFB. If you’re new to the series, this is where we look at the most obscure firearms that are actually for sale and ask the question – is this Gat a sweet deal or only have Fudd appeal?  Each week the TFB staff weighs in with their thoughts, but readers get the final say in the poll at the bottom of each article.

Kalashnikov Concern is designing a new family of AK rifles called 500-series. Despite having a high level of parts commonality with the AK-12/AK-15, the new 500-series rifles feature a completely different upper/lower receiver layout. The company has published some pictures and videos showing a prototype of 500-series rifles called AKV-521. Let’s take a closer look.

AKS-74U, colloquially known as Krinkov, is the variation of Soviet AKs that pioneered a hinged captive top cover. This is a really handy feature as it makes the assembly of the top cover just a matter of closing it which is much simpler compared to the little bit tricky process of attaching a standard AK top cover, and locks/unlocks the gas tube making the disassembly/reassembly of the gun an even easier process by eliminating the step of rotating the gas tube locking lever which is oftentimes excessively tight. The original AKS-74U top cover also houses the rear iron sight assembly. Now, if you want to upgrade your Krinkov and have rails on the top cover,  Texas Weapon Systems, a company known for making hinged top covers for various AK rifles, has a solution for you. TWS has introduced an aluminum railed hinged top cover for AKS-74U pattern firearms called Krinkov Dog Leg Rail.

Clint Smith and his training company Thunder Ranch have been busy at the grindstone working with various manufacturers to put out exclusive firearms offerings. The newest one of these offerings is the Century Arms and Thunder Ranch AK-47. This latest offering is meant to be an exclusive one that the “everyman” can afford.

Vietnamese weapons aren’t particularly mainstream in the Western world, however, we catch a glimpse of them, from time to time. Recently Vlad showed us the latest products of the Z111 Factory, the STV-380 and SVT-215. Now, thanks to the TV channel VTVcab, and its YouTube presence, we can see a few of their details and have a brief tour of the manufacturing facility.

Rifle Dynamics has new limited edition Poppies of War Print AK Stock pouch on offer, with OTTE Gear artwork made by Andrew Bawidamann. This small piece of textile seems very unnecessary, yet if I had a Krink or similar AK, I would buy it ten times out of ten.

In a world dominated by AR15s, it’s always nice to see alternatives that make you want to open the wallet. For instance the Type 81 LMG in Canada, but also this Galil Ace in 5.45x39mm. IWI USA calls it “extremely limited edition” and it comes with either a 16″ or 8.3″ barrel. There are only 545 units produced in both barrel lengths (I wonder what made them come up with that number). If you purchase one, you can contact IWI and they will send you a Certificate of Authenticity that corresponds with your serial number.

The outbreak of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the 27 September is not completely surprising; both countries have fought several short and brutal campaigns against one another since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Kalashnikov USA’s popular KP-9 pistol has made quite a splash in the pistol caliber carbine revival, which means that the aftermarket is starting to ramp up.  While browsing Reddit, I found a product made for the KP-9 that replaces the hollow gas tube with a left-side charging handle.  The “Vector 7.62 HK Style” charging handle is a drop-in replacement that allows users to operate the bolt carrier with the left hand and includes a bolt hold-open cutout for the handle.

India and Russia media reports suggest that the deal for India to procure and produce the AK-203 rifle has been agreed upon. The deal will provide the Indian Armed Forces with a much needed new service rifle.

Back in July, Hrachya reported on the newly modernized Vityaz 9x19mm submachine gun, the PPK-20. Now following the recent Army-2020 Expo in Moscow Kalashnikov have introduced a flurry of new weapons and shared some promotional videos of them in action. The latest is for the PPK-20.

Hot on the heels of Kalashnikov Concern’s brand new 5.56x45mm-chambered AK-19, Russia’s leading small arms company have introduced a new and improved AK-12. The new rifle includes a number of slightly tweaked ergonomic features that were developed in light of feedback from Russian service personnel.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, the largest Russian annual arms exhibition, ARMY, was not canceled and started as scheduled. During this exhibition,  Kalashnikov Concern introduced several new small arms products including a new LMG, a smart shotgun and the AK-19, a 5.56×45 rifle based on the AK-12.

Lingle Industries is a new company that has just released their first product –  CZ Bren 2 lower receiver called BREAK (stands for BREn AK). What sets the Lingle Industries BREAK lower receiver apart from the factory one is that it takes standard 7.62x39mm AK magazines with rock & lock insertion as opposed to the proprietary straight insert mags used in 7.62×39 Bren 2, and it’s also compatible with AR-15 trigger mechanisms (including the safety selector) and pistol grips.

Midwest Industries have added a new M-LOK aluminum handguard to their AK47/AK74 Universal Handguards family of products. The new handguard is called Drop-In. While other models in this line of handguards are arguably drop-in too in that they don’t require permanent changes to the rifles, they are installed by being clamped to the barrel. The new Midwest Industries Drop-In handguard is installed just like the standard AK handguards – without the use of tools or additional parts.

Since late 2017 a group of secessionists in Cameroon’s former British mandate located in the southwest have been fighting under the banner of a self-declared state named the Federal Republic of Ambazonia or Amber Land. Bordering Nigeria to the northwest and the majority French-speaking Cameroon Republic to the east, Ambazonia takes its name from Ambas Bay, the local name for the mouth of the Wouri River where in 1858 English was established as a permanent language. A peaceful movement for independence had been growing for decades which after widespread several strikes and protests culminated in the declaration of an independent Republic and armed struggle in November 2017. Ambazonia even have their own cryptocurrency, the AmberCoin.

US Palm has announced that their AK30R 30-round 7.62×39 magazines which were first introduced back in 2016, are now available for purchase. These are more budget-friendly iterations of their AK30 magazines and are marketed as range mags. Unlike the AK30 that features a stainless steel latch cage built into its top portion, the AK30R magazine has an all-polymer construction which is probably the reason why it is more affordable because the manufacturing of such magazines should be a simpler, faster and cheaper process.

Kalashnikov Concern has just published a press release announcing that a new modernized version of the 9mm Vityaz SMG has successfully passed the government trials. The new iteration of the submachine gun is called PPK-20. The trials were held within the R&D program called “Vityaz-MO” (Витязь-МО). As a result of the trials, the PPK-20 was approved as suitable for mass production.

In the previous post, I talked about some of the new AK variants developed by the Vietnamese Z111 factory, but those prototypes seem to be a side project for the new facility. The main purpose of Z111 is the production of STV-380 and STV-215, new service rifles of the Vietnamese army.

There are very few countries in a modern world that have a respectable firearms industry and manage to keep a veil of secrecy over it. Besides North Korea, Myanmar, Iran, Sudan, and some Gulf countries, Vietnam seems to be very secretive about its new guns. Thankfully, the situation is slowly changing and now we can see Vietnamese weapons coming out of the shadows.

About a year ago, YouTuber Garand Thumb published a video review of a custom Rifle Dynamics AK pistol built to his specifications which he called “the best AK ever built“. Apparently, the AK featured in the video generated enough interest to make Rifle Dynamics offer it as a custom, Garand Thumb edition of their RD 704 pistol. Let’s see what features this gun packs.

The news concerning the establishment of an AK-103 assembly line in Armenia has been reported by several Armenian and Russian sources within the past month, however, there was no official statement. Yesterday, this information was officially confirmed as the Government of the Republic of Armenia published a news release covering Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to the assembly facility which is set up on the premises of a local defense company called “Neutron GAM” CJSC.

Circle 10 AK has added three new products to their line of AK accessories – two muzzle brakes and a version of their fixed aluminum triangle stock compatible with Yugoslavian AKs. All these new AK products are made in the United States thus each of them counts as one 922(r) compliance parts when building AKs from imported parts kits. Let’s take a brief look at each of these three new AK parts.

POTD, short for Photo Of The Day, is TFB’s recurring articles where we go to great length trying to find the best pictures and stories out there. Today we found them in Poland, from the 15 Giżycka Brygada Zmechanizowana. We’re looking at the life of soldiering and the operation of a reconnaissance company in the Polish woodland and marshes.

Photo Of The Day – A picture and story found at the Soviet Wastelands, we’re looking at “a Chinese PLA horseman riding towards a nuclear explosion whilst aiming a Kalashnikov during a Nuclear weapons test in Lop Nur China 1964.”

We have been closely following India’s tentative steps towards modernisation of her Army’s small arms and the replacement of the INSAS rifle. It seemed that with the selection of Kalashnikov Concern’s AK-203 that India had selected a rifle suited to its soldier’s needs but recent reports suggest that the progress toward beginning production of the new rifles may have stalled.

Back in March, we reported that the special forces of the Western Military District had been issued with the Russian Army’s newest rifle, the AK-12. The Russian government recently announced that the 144th Motorized Rifle Division deployed in the Smolensk Region has also now received the new rifle. The delivery of 5,500 of AK-12s is the largest issue of the new rifles yet reported. The troops of the 144th Motorized Rifle Division are now undergoing familiarisation training.